Trying to choose the right tractor

[Garinda]

thanks bruce, i'll do that. I'm in OKC this week and there is a dealer there with a large inventory, i'll be checking them out to help me decide. Goofy wife thinks i need to go full bore farming when i retire. I ain't goin there lol. that isn't my idea of retirement.

 

[Slant]

We have owned many JD's over the years, and currently have 7 of them ranging from a 6220 to a 8320, along with a couple of blue ones, :ashamed:. For 160 acres, you will not need anything larger than a 100HP tractor. In fact another family farm down the road farms about 1000 acres of land and they have nothing larger than a 2955 2WD which I think were about 90-95 HP.

A 100 HP 4WD tractor will easily pull a 5 furrow plough, we have a 6 furrow reversible and I sometimes use the 7220, 105 HP to do so (a big pull mind you). That being said I wouldn't want to go much smaller than 100 HP as I find many implements, especially those PTO driven require it. For example, there is a huge difference in cutting hay with the 6220 as opposed to the 7220. But again ... the 6220 does do the job, just much slower.

Have you ever thought about buying used? this would allow you to get into a better model at a much better price. It may also allow you to pick up a larger tractor such as a 100 Hp and then a smaller loader tractor for example (our farm doesn't function without a loader tractor, or two!).

Just my $0.02

 

[Garinda]

Thats great info too Slant, thank you. Yes i'll probably try to use something like machinefinder or tractor house to get a modestly used machine and impliments too. I've been researching twin row planters a lot.

 

[Duffster]

Thats great info too Slant, thank you. Yes i'll probably try to use something like machinefinder or tractor house to get a modestly used machine and impliments too. I've been researching twin row planters a lot.

Twin row?

I would thin you would want atleast a 4 row. They will probably be cheaper too.

 

[rutwad]

I posted this in a different forum, probably the wrong one. Obviously I'm new here. After looking around here i think i should have asked my question in this forum, so here it is again. Sorry for duplication but I don't know how much everyone reads the different forums.

Hello everyone. My first post here. Have 160 acres that we've been renting out. It's been dryland farmed although there is an older well. I've been thinking about weekend farming it myself. I do have a lot of time other than weekends to tend to it. So I started looking into new tractors. The 5105M and the 6140D is what I keep looking at. 100 hp/32F speeds vs 140 hp/9F speeds. I've also looked at the 6430P but didn't want to spend that much $. Anyone have any advice? I figure everytime i have to make a pass over it, it will take between 24 and 36 hours in the seat? Does that sound about right?

Between the 5105 & 6140, definitely go for the 6140. But if you like the 6430P, you could save some money if you did not get the Premium.

Good luck gambling........oops, I mean farming!!

 

[Garinda]

twin row planting Twin-Row.com | Online Resource Center looks interesting.

 

[Garinda]

The local dealer has a 5101E with loader on the lot. Trying to find a six series near enough by to look at.

 

[Duffster]

twin row planting Twin-Row.com | Online Resource Center looks interesting.

I got ya. Don't waste your time. It works OK in perfect years and can be a complete flop in poorer years.

You are better off to go to ultra narrow rows like 20".

 

[kjung17]

A lot of good advice here. One thing to consider is machine longevity. If you go with a little larger tractor, you won't work it as hard and it will last longer. Also, with the "gear up, throttle back" technique, you can save a lot of fuel.